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Flickr is putting explicit content sharing behind a paywall
Flickr will require a paid account to share NSFW photos — and free accounts will only get to upload a limited number of private shots.
Flickr postpones photo deletions for free users to March 12th
Don't panic if you missed the February 5th deadline before the new owners at SmugMug (previously Engadget's parent Verizon) started deleting Flickr photos beyond the 1,000-image limit for free accounts. SmugMug has postponed the deletion period to March 12th in the wake of feedback and "complications" with photo downloads. While it wasn't specific about what those issues were, USA Today reported "unresponsive" downloads and sluggish deletions, with requests for archives going unanswered days later.
Flickr will start deleting your photos tomorrow if you're over its limit
If you have lots of photos on Flickr but don't intend to pay for a Pro account, you have mere hours left to consider your options. As warned, the newly Smugmug-owned Flickr will start deleting free users' photos and videos beyond the 1,000-item limit on February 5th. There are exceptions if your additional images fall under a Creative Commons license, but you also can't upload more pictures until you're under that limit. It's not too hard to safeguard your photos if you'd rather not pay $50 per year, although it might require more work than you think.
Flickr limits free plan to 1,000 photos or videos
Flickr is killing its 1TB of free storage in favor of a no-cost plan where you're limited to 1,000 photos or videos, no matter the file size. The move comes amid a raft of changes at the photo hosting service, which SmugMug bought from Yahoo earlier this year.
Pro photo storage site SmugMug buys Flickr
Long before Minecraft exploded from a development tool to a game purchased by Microsoft for billions of dollars, there was Flickr. The photo-sharing started in 2004 based on tools built for a never-released MMO before being purchased by Yahoo (now a part of Oath, the parent company of Engadget) in 2005 for more than $20 million. Now the service and its 75 million~ accounts have been purchased by SmugMug, a smaller competitor focused on professionals. SmugMug is a similar site that started in 2002, but from the beginning it has focused on serving people willing to pay for its privacy and storage, as opposed to Flickr, where most people are using free accounts. Over the years competition from social networks and newer photo apps like Instagram chewed away at Flickr's active users, and its influence has stagnated. SmugMug claims that together, the two services represent "the world's most influential photographer-centric community" where "perspective is shared, not forced."
Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi Video cards now with more options for Internet regret
You know that video mode you haven't used since first bought your compact point and shoot? Right, the one that does 720p HD video if you've purchased a camera within the last 6 months? Well, Eye-Fi's back to remind you that it's now selling its $99 Eye-Fi Explore Video (with geotagging) and $79 Eye-Fi Share Video SDHC cards nationwide. They've also enabled video sharing with Picasa, Photobucket, and SmugMug in addition to Flickr and YouTube. The result is dead-simple, un-edited direct-to-internet video sharing without the need for a tethered computer. Of course, these cards work equally well for dumping your films and photos over WiFi to your Mac or PC at home -- but why live your life in a bubble?
HD quality comparison of online video sharing sites
Sure, you could just surf around the intarwebz and utilize the tried-and-true "eye test" to see which online video sharing site boasts the best HD quality, but there's always a good feeling associated with having some cold, hard facts to back things up. TechVideoBlog has done the hard work for you, spelling out the resolution, codec, audio quality, etc. associated with each. The assembler of the data personally prefers Facebook and YouTube, but we'll let you digest the data in the read link before asking you to share your own choice in comments below.
Eye-Fi and SmugMug team up for geotagging
The Eye-Fi card is an SD card with a difference -- it has Wi-Fi built into it for easy camera-to-internet transfer of photos. It comes in three different flavors; Eye-Fi Home, Eye-Fi Share, and Eye-Fi Explore. The latter card (US$129) includes free Wi-Fi access at Wayport hotspots, unlimited geotagging using Skyhook Wireless (the same service Apple and Google use for location data on pre-3G iPhones and iPod touch handhelds), and an unlimited WebShare service for sharing photos.Eye-Fi and SmugMug (an online photo sharing site) announced a partnership providing a year of geotagging and hotspot access for SmugMug members using an original Eye-Fi Card or the $US99.99 Eye-Fi Share. SmugMug provides standard (US$39.95 annually), power user (US$59.95 annually) and professional ($149.95 annually) accounts, all of which provide ad-free, backed-up, and secure hosting of your photos.Do you use an Eye-Fi card with your digital camera? If you do, what service do you upload your photos to, and do you use the geotagging capability? Leave us a comment.
ImageWell receives big update
I'm a huge fan of ImageWell. In fact, I've used it to edit nearly every image I've posted to TUAW. If you're unfamiliar, it's a quick-and-dirty image editor that's perfect when Photoshop would be overkill. Crop or resize your image, add a watermark or upload to your server easily.Today, version 3.2 is available, and offers Flickr, SmugMug and ImageShack compatibility. Just click to send your image on its way. You can also annotate images with text, flip, rotate and more. Plus, ImageWell offers support for FTP, .Mac, SFTP and WebDAV. You can even designate a local folder for export.ImageWell is free. However, you can purchase the "Xtras pack" - which offers features in addition to those mentioned here - for $14.95US.
